Spotlight on caregivers: John Finn

In our fifth and final article honoring the winners of the Honoring Caregivers award, we look at winner John Finn:

Every day, as the site manager for a farrow-to-wean unit with HC Feeders in New Hampton, Iowa, John just does what is best for his pigs.

Because of this, he was surprised to receive the 2015 Honoring Caregivers award. After all, according to him, “I don’t feel that I do anything extraordinary. I do these things because they are the right things to do.”

John is truly committed to his team and his pigs. Jeff Kayser had nothing but praise in his nomination of John.

He says,“John has brought solid leadership to farm employees and is instrumental in improving facilities to provide a better environment for the pigs. His commitment to the responsible use of antibiotics is demonstrated by ensuring that pigs are treated at the right time and all treatments are accurately recorded. He is very deserving of this award.”

John’s contributions move far beyond animal care, though. He leads a team of five employees to operate the 1,700-sow facility, bringing leadership that not only improved production but set historic, record levels of throughput and efficiency for five consecutive years since he became manager.

John has also improved employee retention rates and reduced staff turnover by more than 50 percent.

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About the Author:

Angela Bowman, Associate Editor, PORK Network

Angela joined PORK Network as staff writer in 2010, and today handles many aspects of the magazine’s online and print presence. From cattle to hogs, from corn to wheat, her farming roots trace to generations of hard-working farmers – her great-great grandfather helped bring turkey red wheat to the Midwest. Her family still grows corn and soybeans on their Nebraska farm dating back four generations. She graduated with honors from Ottawa University with a B.A. in Communications and combines her rural upbringing, precision ag experience and agricultural background to create fresh, informational articles that are both relevant and interesting.